Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing for the food manufacturing sector to mitigate the effect of EU workforce shortages.

Employers in the sectors are free to continue to recruit EU workers to meet their labour needs, and we remain closely engaged with the industry to ensure that we are informed of their latest intelligence on labour demand.

The Home Office intends to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to better understand the reliance on EU migrant workers across the economy and consider the UK’s labour market needs.

In the longer-term, the Government is considering the options for our future immigration system very carefully. We are looking to develop a system which works for all, and will ensure that businesses and communities have the opportunity to contribute their views.